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Many of us don’t realize how much of our livelihoods depend on a reliable electricity grid, until we lose power in a blackout or outage. For many communities across the country, that is becoming a more common occurrence as we experience more frequent and severe storms and heat waves worsened by climate change. Just last …

The reauthorization of the farm bill, which offers critical funding to support farmers and food businesses, is currently being debated in Congress. This is a crucial moment to support farmers and businesses—and major food companies need to make sure they take advantage of it. What is at stake? Billions of dollars in funding intended to …

(This post was co-authored by EDF analyst Jolie Villegas) The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent updates of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards include several steps that provide substantial public health benefits by reducing toxic air pollution from coal plants. In our last blog post we wrote about one of those steps – closing the “lignite …

Food companies can use their voice in Washington to safeguard essential Farm Bill funding to mitigate agricultural emissions and protect food supply chains.

This spring, hundreds of scientists, engineers, water managers, farmers and ranchers gathered in New Mexico to share and learn about how OpenET data is being used to advance water resources management. OpenET has radically improved access to data on evapotranspiration (ET) — or how much water plants and other vegetation consume. The result has been …

Voluntary home buyouts,can facilitate the relocation of residents out of increasingly flood-prone communities. But unfortunately, existing federal programs are slow and require local governments to meet complex and challenging guidelines. Innovative approaches are needed to make buyouts more efficient. Here are three strategies that can help. The post Three ways to make home buyouts more efficient first appeared on Growing Returns.

Authored by Juan Pablo Hoffmaister, Associate Vice President for Global Engagement at Environmental Defense Fund  The international climate community is convening in Bonn, Germany, for the 60th sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies of the UNFCCC this June—and they will set the tone for the next year of global climate engagement. The sessions in Bonn are …

The ground beneath our feet holds more carbon than the Earth's atmosphere and all its plants combined. Scientists are investigating how to keep it there.

This blog was co-authored by Sara Olsen, Project Manager, California Political Affairs Results of the latest Western Climate Initiative auction were released today, showing continued demand for allowances and confidence in the long-term stability of this landmark program. This auction is expected to generate roughly $1.1 billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which …

2-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - we reflect on the wins and address some of the challenges ahead.

UK TFMR Secretariat has an opportunity to develop strong market standards to channel private finance towards real world decarbonisation.

By Nini Gu Developing more accurate emissions inventories with real-world measurement data of oil and gas climate pollution is key to verifying our progress toward addressing climate change. Earlier this month, the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division achieved a major breakthrough to do just that when it finalized its Greenhouse Gas Intensity Verification Protocol, marking …

Environmental Defense Fund and co-authors released new research that may prove beneficial to resource managers, aimed at evaluating and implementing actions to improve the Mississippi River Basin’s overall health and resilience. Based on this research, we are sharing a comprehensive framework that can be used to effectively manage the Mississippi River Basin. The post New research could help resource managers improve the health and resilience of the Mississippi River Basin first appeared on Growing Returns.

By Daniel Whittle Chronic power outages, food disruptions and climate-related disasters have become commonplace across the Caribbean. But amidst these challenges, there’s room for optimism. Increased funding, growing awareness, supportive policies and community leadership offer an opportunity for rebuilding and strengthening resilience in the Caribbean and small island developing states, or SIDS,  around the world.

By Peri Rosenstein and Nicole Jenkins Methane emissions are a potent greenhouse gas, warming the climate more than 80 times faster than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale. Rapidly and significantly reducing methane is the most effective way to reduce the rate of warming, especially over the next few decades.  Agriculture is responsible for 40%

One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that significantly reduced federal wetlands protections, leaving America’s wetlands at greater risk of development and degradation. The case of Sackett v. EPA was decided 9-0 in favor of the Sacketts, a couple from Idaho that filled in wetlands to build on their property near Priest …

(This post was co-authored by EDF’s Peter Zalzal) When organic waste ends up in landfills, it produces methane — a powerful climate pollutant —as it decomposes. In the U.S., landfills are our third largest source of methane and a major driver of climate change. They also emit large amounts of health-harming and even cancer-causing pollution,

  By Neda Deylami Misinformation about zero-emission vehicles and confusion around federal Environmental Protection Agency standards versus those states can adopt under the Clean Air Act waiver has left many manufacturers, small businesses and fleet managers wondering what market-based policies like the Advanced Clean Trucks rule could mean for their operations and bottom line.  The …

By Neda Deylami. This blog was co-authored by José Acosta-Córdova, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst at LVEJO Transportation accounts for almost one-third of Illinois’ greenhouse gas emissions — the sector responsible for the most GHG emissions in the state. Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as delivery vans, transit buses and large tractor-trailers are a disproportionate contributor …

The Environmental Protection Agency has now finalized a wide array of standards to protect people and the climate from dangerous pollution. Those standards cover some of the largest polluting sectors in the U.S., including oil and gas production, power plants, and cars and trucks. But there’s another source of dangerous pollution that still isn’t subject …

As the impacts of climate change reveal themselves to North Carolinians in the form of heat, flooding, wildfires, drought, and increasingly intense and more frequent tropical storms, the case for urgent action to combat climate change is strengthening. Our state has made important strides, setting vehicle electrification goals and power sector emissions reductions directives, but …

EDF's electric vehicle experts assembled these facts to counter the lobbyists who want to make sure Americans keep paying at the pump.

By Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities  What’s New?  President Biden recently announced $3 billion in federal funding for lead service line replacement. In the third year of this historic $15 billion investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace harmful lead pipes across the U.S., there is an …

While it may be convenient to place slow onset events like biodiversity loss on the backburner, financing climate solutions now is a more cost-effective approach in the long run. By embracing creative financial mechanisms and harnessing the power of nature-based approaches, we can pave the way for a more resilient tomorrow. 

When it comes to livestock and environmental impacts, methane emission reductions are often top of mind — and for good reason. Lowering methane emissions from animal agriculture is one of the fastest ways to slow down climate change. However, important local air pollutants like ammonia are seldom discussed with the same frequency or urgency. Agriculture …